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Also works for Purim and Passover! Although for those holidays it’s “let’s eat and drink”. :-bd </p>
<p>In the middle of cooking for my annual Chanukah dinner party. (I spell it Chanukah, which I believe more closely aligns with a transliteration of the Hebrew spelling. I think that “Hanukkah” is a Hallmark invention. 
) Making classic potato latkes (I use yukon golds), zucchini latkes and shittake mushroom & carrot latkes, brisket, chicken, a couple of soups, salad, homemade applesauce, and a couple of desserts. Expecting to have 16 around the dinner table. This has become our tradition with our friends. :)</p>
<p>Happy Chanukah and Merry Christmas to all who celebrate!</p>
<p>I want to come to your house!</p>
<p>Party at momof3sons!!!</p>
<p>I’m in. That sounds really good.</p>
<p>We’re having Mom and brother and family on Sunday; total eight people. I make my latkes with russet potatoes. I’m also making chopped liver, DH is making tuna salad with cranberries and almonds, we’ll buy a chicken salad probably from Whole Foods, and also have rolls, veggies and HB eggs to go with the salads. I would have done dinner instead of late lunch but bro says they have to get home early because they “work on Monday”. I’m hosting this and I hosted Thanksgiving because it may be the last time for a long time that we can all get together.</p>
<p>Happy Hanukkah, everyone! H and I decided to give our home-from-college kids (their first year away) gifts after all. Do you still give Hanukkah gifts to your college age kids?</p>
<p>Yes, of course we do. But I ask them what they need and want. I do love shopping (duh) I am tired. I hate going to “our” mall and trying to find parking. So I have ordered a bunch of stuff. And some stuff will be purchased day Dec 16th.</p>
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<p>That was what the party was called and I enjoyed the bounty of potato latkes and jellied donut holes. 
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<p>Incidentally, a grad student friend invited me over to a Prof’s holiday party earlier tonight and I managed to score 2 more potato latkes. :D</p>
<p>We get gifts for our grown children, but we also ask what they want. Usually it’s been a gift card of some sort, but sometimes they ask for something specific. They haven’t gotten 8 gifts in a very long time.</p>
<p>This year the son asked for a French press coffee maker and bean grinder. He sent links on Amazon. He knows his old mom; I like to see things in person and do a little research. It is fun to send pictures and text about the final purchase. I collect little things (see the other post) and send. </p>
<p>More challenging is buying for my cousin’s grandchildren. When the child comes up to me, with a broad grin, it makes my evening.</p>
<p>With all out of the house I have been texting photos of past Chanukah candle lighting. They are loving seeing themselves as young children.
I did make brisket and latkes tonight for S and his GF. We also had family passing through town so had 8 at the table. I froze a cooked brisket that we will take when we visit our oldest post Chanukah.</p>
<p>Menorah cleaning tips, from Tablet Magazine:</p>
<p><a href=“http://tabletmag.com/scroll/155419/how-to-get-wax-off-your-menorah”>http://tabletmag.com/scroll/155419/how-to-get-wax-off-your-menorah</a></p>
<p>I’ve tried the freezing and it didn’t work for me. Maybe I’ll try the oven method this year. </p>
<p>Thanks for the cleaning tips. Mine was a mess from last year. </p>
<p>I don’t think we ever did 8 nights of large gifts. We divided it up between our gifts, grandparent gifts. After a while, they usually wanted larger gifts, so they would get a couple, not 8. </p>
<p>For the college age kids it is usually something like new clothes, gift cards, money towards a trip. Many times, if Hanukah is early, they aren’t home for part or even most of it. </p>
<p>I hope everyone here had a great holiday. </p>
<p>Anyone interest in a book about a Jewish Family-Check out “Charge of Spirit” free through 12/25 on Amazon/Kindle. I I downloaded and wasn’t disappointed. >:D< </p>
<p>Freezing the menorah hasn’t worked for me either. I’ve had more success with hot water, but it’s still not easy getting it clean.</p>
<p>My kids were still in elementary school when we did 8 gifts. Only a few were big gifts. Some nights they’d get books, small toys, clothing. Then they got impatient and wanted more expensive gifts, so we changed to giving them their gifts on the first night. </p>
<p>My mother suggests using a hair dryer to soften the wax on the menorah.</p>
<p>We give our college age and older Chanukah gifts as well as our nieces and nephews, all of whom are gainfully employed. We ask first now, and I have instituted a rule called, “Do not say, ‘cash is king’ anymore.” :)) I will get them a gift card to specific stores rather than send cash to someone who is working full time. For our kids, I do ask. One kid got a wifi extender he really wanted for his apartment as well as some texting gloves. Another got a new windbreaker type jacket to replace the one he left on a plane, and the other got a bunch of new “business casual” clothes he needed with a job change. At least they are at the point where they are asking for practical things.</p>
<p>We are also having a belated Chanukah party on Sunday for my brothers’ and their families. Just couldn’t all make it work any other day. I can’t believe that we took the leaves out of the dining room table after the big Chanukah dinner party last Saturday, schlepped them downstairs, packed up all the chairs, etc. We have to do it all over again and back to the butcher I go tomorrow to buy more brisket and chicken. There would be a mutiny of my nephews if I didn’t serve brisket. :)</p>
<p>So how many of us are having Chinese food tomorrow?</p>